


new cupid, time for a change (i just let the music come from my soul)

by leifstroganoff



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anxious Leif Who's In Love With His Two Best Friends, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Obnoxiously Cute Photobooth Scenes, Panic Attack, Prom, Stargazing, Tobin Proposes A Three Person Prom Extravaganza, Zoey Is ALSO Anxious And In Love With Her Two Best Friends, fun & good vibes, im still bad at tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 18:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30076110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leifstroganoff/pseuds/leifstroganoff
Summary: “I have a proposal.” Tobin says uncharacteristically seriously, sitting up and scooting to the end of the bed to sit cross-legged facing the other two. “If we all don’t have dates, we’re probably just gonna hang out together the night of, anyways. Why don’t we just go together? Have fun as friends?”“That actually sounds kinda fun.” Zoey chimes in, breaking Tobin’s eye contact with Leif as she smiles at him with a thoughtful look beneath it. “And less stressful than going with an actual date.”
Relationships: Tobin Batra/Leif Donnelly, Tobin Batra/Zoey Clarke, Tobin Batra/Zoey Clarke/Leif Donnelly, Zoey Clarke/Leif Donnelly
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	new cupid, time for a change (i just let the music come from my soul)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ElliHelm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElliHelm/gifts).



> happy birthday [mary ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElliHelm/pseuds/ElliHelm)!! i appreciate you and your writing so much and we are undoubtedly each other's biggest hypemen and it has been. so hard to keep this mostly a surprise to you but i hope you like it!! i dont have much to say to introduce this fic, just that our favorite dumbasses are in a high school AU and going to prom <3

Tobin’s not disappointed that he doesn’t have a date to prom. He’s _not._ He’s a baller guy with wit and charm and anyone’d be _lucky_ to have him take them to a stupid dance. Or, at least, that’s what he keeps telling himself.

In reality, he _really freakin’ wants to go,_ but he’s not about to be one of those losers who goes by himself and he’s been rejected by every pretty girl he’s asked. He’s pretty close to taking his L and asking one of the band girls who’s almost guaranteed to say yes when an idea springs into his head and he glances to the other side of Leif’s room where Zoey’s curled up with her laptop on a beanbag chair and then to Leif’s desk where Leif himself sits, leaned over a textbook, highlighter cap stuck in his mouth as restless eyes scan the pages for relevant information. _This could work._

“Hey, did either of you get asked to prom?” Tobin’s voice rings through the room from where he’s laying across Leif’s bed, playing on his phone and it catches both of his friends’ attention, causing both of them to look up from their studying ( _nerds)_ and direct their attention to Tobin’s question _._

“Uh, Max asked me, but I said no.” Zoey responds sheepishly, retreating into herself a little bit at the quizzical looks that earns her from both of her friends. “He just seemed really serious about it. Like _way more than friends_ serious, and, I don’t know, I just don’t think I… like him like that.” She pauses for a second, her eyes meeting her laptop screen now instead of looking at the boys. “Or, I mean, I _might_ , but what if I don’t and then I hurt him, right? He’s probably the most important person to me besides _you guys,_ so... I… said no.” She shifts under Tobin’s gaze, with his raised eyebrows and slight disbelief. “Stop looking at me like that.”

Tobin makes a ‘ _like what’_ face, faux-innocence dripping off him as he redirects his energy to Leif sitting at his desk, raising his eyebrows in a silent ‘ _and you?’_.

“Uh, no. I wasn’t really planning to go. Dances aren’t… really my jam.”

Tobin notes the distinct lack of actually answering the question about _whether or not he was asked,_ so he assumes it’s a _‘no’_ and that Leif just doesn’t wanna say it. He’s never been able to own his dorkiness quite like Tobin has (or at least not as _loudly_ or _obnoxiously,_ anyways; Tobin’s sure that’ll come with time). He’s about 99% sure that Leif _does_ want to go, he’s just about the same as Tobin and doesn’t wanna go _alone._

“I have a proposal.” Tobin says uncharacteristically seriously, sitting up and scooting to the end of the bed to sit cross-legged facing the other two. “If we all don’t have dates, we’re probably just gonna hang out together the night of, anyways. Why don’t we just go together? Have fun as friends?”

Leif blanches as soon as Tobin’s said it, mouth opening and closing for something that he won’t actually say and it makes Tobin’s stomach twist. _Come on, dude. Man up. Don’t make this hard._

“That actually sounds kinda fun.” Zoey chimes in, breaking Tobin’s eye contact with Leif as she smiles at him with a thoughtful look beneath it. “And less stressful than going with an actual date.”

“Right!” Tobin points at her with an enthusiastic smile. That’s exactly his point! “It’ll be just like a normal hangout, but we get to have the prom experience.”

Pleading eyes leave Zoey’s to meet Leif’s again, though Zoey’s eyes join him now in pleading at Leif, his doubtful face betraying him as he lets out a sigh.

“ _Guys,_ ” He pleads in return, highlighter fiddling between his fingers now as he glances between his friends, meeting their absolutely pitiful gazes. “I’m not - I just - prom’s not really -”

Tobin meets his doubts with an exaggerated pout that Leif finds mirrored on Zoey’s face when he turns his head to beg for her help. _So much for that._

“I guess… it _could_ be fun.” He admits, giving in with a sigh and a small shrug, his body language small and retreating a little bit into himself, eyes flitting between Zoey and Tobin’s growing smiles. A shy smile and a hand rubbing against the back of his neck leads to a small, muttered, “ _I’d get to wear a suit”._

“Yes!” Tobin’s laugh is exaggerated as he leans forward, his hands gripping the wooden bedframe of the end of Leif’s bed as he lets out a triumphant noise. “Exactly! You’re gonna look like _hot shit. I’m_ gonna look like hot shit. _Zoey’s_ gonna look like hot shit. The three of us, we’re unstoppable, baby!”

That manages to draw a laugh out of Leif, the hesitation draining from his face at Tobin’s energy and Zoey’s soft smile watching Tobin celebrate.

“You’re not gonna regret this, Leifally Blonde.”

“Have you even seen that movie?” The nervous energy falls easily off Leif as he teases Tobin now, turning back to the textbook with a small smile resting on his face.

“ _Yes_. It’s empowering as shit. Fuck off.” Tobin’s reply is indignant despite the blush that it brings as he falls back onto Leif’s bed, resuming his position of fucking around while Leif and Zoey do actual work (it’s not that he doesn’t have work to _do_ , he just knows he has plenty of time to do it and he’s not about to work ahead like some sort of nerd; he knows his limits). Except now, he has a light smile on his face as he starts looking at creative tux jackets on his phone.

* * *

_Okay._ Okay, okay, okay. So, Leif is going to prom with his two best friends. That’s not a big deal, right? They’re important to him and they love spending time together and it _makes sense_ to go with them.

It’s just that he’s also well aware that he’s hopelessly head over heels for both of them, far past the stupidity of normal teenage crushes. So, now, where he should be paying attention to his AP Calc class, he’s doodling hearts (and _maybe_ blushing miniature doodles of the current objects of his confusion, but he’d deny the similarities if ever confronted about it) in the margins and letting his mind wander.

What if he gets caught up in the moment and says something dumb, like _letting them know how much they mean to him_ or something? While _accurate_ , the thought of either of them knowing just how deep his loyalty goes is _mortifying_ , especially when he’s not a hundred percent sure if that level of loyalty is returned.

He wouldn’t even blame them if it wasn’t. He’s aware that he’s ridiculously invested in their friendship, to a level that normal people are definitely not (and if that has something to do with his lingering _more-than-friendship_ feelings, he pushes that thought way deep down and doesn’t confront it again until he absolutely has to). He’s aware that he almost definitely loves them more than they’re ever gonna love him; at least, that’s what he _believes,_ no matter how wrong he might be.

 _Whatever._ He can do this. And even if he can’t, he has to, because Tobin looked so excited and Zoey seemed happy to be going with them, and the thought of the two of them going _without him_ hurts so much more than the thought of him embarrassing himself.

“You okay?”

Leif’s head whips up at the sound of a whispered voice from the seat next to him. _Simon._ Star tennis player (not that the school actually pays that much attention to tennis; Leif, however, _does._ It started because he had a crush on said star tennis player and escalated into a genuine interest in the sport before he’d even had a chance to process it; it certainly _helped_ that going to the games meant he got to see Simon smile and wave at him before wiping the sweat from his face with a just-slightly-too-tight t-shirt) and golden boy with a heart equally as golden.

“Yup. Never better.” Leif lies easily in response, watching Simon’s eyes fall on the margins of his notes with a knowing smile resting on his lips, where Leif’s wrist quickly moves to pretend to write something, not-so-surreptitiously covering the doodles of his best friends.

“You sure?” Simon doesn’t bother to hide the doubt in his voice, eyes flitting back to where he could previously see the doodles now guarded by Leif’s hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so zoned out here. You’re usually, like… _over_ focused.”

“I’m not -” Leif’s whispered denial is cut off by a cough from the teacher, drawing both of their attentions back to the front of the classroom.

“If you two have something to share, share it with the whole class. Otherwise, keep it to yourselves. Got it?”

Leif’s hand moves into a dumb thumbs up with a meek smile as Simon nods and refocuses back to his own notes, leaving Leif with his own thoughts again as the teacher moves on. _He can do this._ He can totally be a casual prom date for Tobin and Zoey. _Right?_

* * *

Red dress reflects in a full-size standing mirror as the short body within it twirls in a circle, equally red hair bouncing off her shoulders and against her back as she lands back facing herself, smoothing her hands down the tulle as it comes to a stop from the twirling.

“You look really pretty, Zo.” Her brother’s voice rings through the room as he stands in the doorway, one hand shoved lazily into the pocket of his pants. “Seriously, I mean it. You’re _glowing.”_

“Thanks, David.” She ducks her head as she moves over to her desk, picking up the clutch purse that rests on top of it and opening it to double check that the three prom tickets still rest inside.

“Okay, what’s this?” David asks abruptly, stepping into the room with a rather judgemental look on his face.

“What’s what?” Zoey reacts immediately, unsure exactly why she feels so defensive.

“You’re nervous, I can hear you thinking over _me_ thinking. It’s hard to out-nervous-think me, Zoey.”

“I’m not… I’m not _nervous._ Or, I mean, I _am_ , but it’s not _weird._ ” She crosses her arms over her chest as she turns back toward David. “It’s _prom,_ it’s _big._ And I’m going with my best friends, I think I have a right to be nervous.”

“Are you _sure_ that’s it?” The teasing edge to his voice doesn’t help the nerves floating around in her stomach as she sits sideways on her bed so she’s still facing David.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s supposed to mean that your face is about as red as your dress right now.”

“ _What?”_

“C’mon, Zo, you like them.”

“Them? Both of them? David, what are you -”

“Zo, listen; being a _college man,_ ” David starts and Zoey rolls her eyes at his gloating about _being in his first year of college._ “You get to know some things. Have some experiences. Open your mind. _Talk to girls._ ”

“David.” Zoey gives him a pointed glare and he shrinks.

“ _Okay,_ talk to _one_ girl. My point is, you get all blush-y around them and you look happier than you ever do with anyone else. I know they’re your best friends and some of that comes with the territory, but…” He trails off, shrugging his shoulders as he gives her an equally pointed look. “I don’t know, Zo, they’re special.”

Zoey lets her eyes rest on him for a second before lowering them to meet her hands folded on her lap.

“You’re right, they _are_ special.” Her voice is low and a little shaky as she shrugs her shoulders lightly. “And I won’t ruin that with dumb feelings that I don’t even know what they mean. Especially for _both_ of them. That’s just a recipe for messy, David.”

“Right, but you _clearly_ like them, so why don’t you -”

“ _David._ I’m not doing anything about it.” She shakes her head, standing up firmly and resolutely, angling her head up to look at her brother. “Please just drive me to the park.”

“Okay, but -”

“ _David.”_

* * *

The plan is to meet up at a local park, take some pictures, get dinner, then head to prom. Leif is freaking out a _little bit_ from the aforementioned _being in love with them_ situation, so he’d arrived thirty minutes early, sitting on a bench at the park they’d chosen (he’s well aware that it’s the park that he and Tobin had met Zoey at five years prior, but he’s not sure if either of _them_ remember the tree that the twelve-year old redhead had approached them under asking if they’d seen her dog who’d gotten off his leash; the two had said ‘no’, but something had drawn them to spend the rest of the afternoon helping her find the dog, who had simply wandered back to her family’s house without her; the three have been inseparable since), thick, black sketchbook resting on his lap where his left ankle rests on his right knee, sweat gathering at the small of his back from the California heat hitting his floral blazer-clad body, sharp white pencil sketching the beginnings of a red dress that had been sent in a group chat lovingly titled _“the smartest dumbasses <3”_ just over three weeks prior.

He doesn’t notice Tobin pulling up in his beat up Honda Civic (though, his dad still insists it’s not _really_ his car and that it’s shared with his sister, but considering his sister won’t learn to drive for another two years, Leif feels pretty confident calling it _Tobin’s car_ for now) until the door shuts loudly and he hears a _‘bro’_ from across the bed of flowers between him and the parking lot.

Tobin’s approaching him with a smile as Leif shuts the sketchbook on his lap.

“ _First off,_ bangin’ blazer. You look hot as shit, dude.” Leif tries to ignore the blush that that brings to his cheeks as his fingers play with the ringlet spine of his sketchbook. “Second, you really brought your sketchbook to prom?”

“I mean, I was gonna leave it in the car, but… _yeah.”_ He responds sheepishly, nervous eyes floating down to the sketchpad, as he screws his mouth to the side and Tobin’s energy softens considerably as he sits next to him and Leif checks his watch. Tobin is five minutes early and Zoey is likely to be five minutes late (her brother was giving her a ride and he tended to ride the time _closely_ , usually after getting wrapped up in a conversation with their mom _,_ which they had accounted for in their scheduling, telling him she needed to be there ten minutes before they’d actually _need_ to start taking pictures in order to be on time).

“Can I see what you were drawing?”

“No, you’re gonna make fun of me.” Leif tries to say it with an air of levity, but the insecurity he’s feeling slips its way into a crack in his voice.

“No, I’m not!” Tobin replies indignantly, tilting his head with a small scoff. “Dude, seriously, I promise.” Tobin’s energy feels genuine now, the offense he’d taken melting away as he processes the meek, self conscious energy of his friend, his hand moving to catch Leif’s arm. “For real, I know your art’s important to you. That’s why I wanna see it, you don’t have to.”

Suspicious eyes move from the closed sketchbook to Tobin next to him, really taking him in for the first time since he’d sat down, dark ripped jeans paired with a button-down and a black blazer with gold threads littering it and he has absolutely no right to pull it off as well as he does, with his hair falling into a perfect swoop that makes Leif’s stomach turn as he admires him, ignoring the red tint he’s sure has taken over his cheeks.

“Alright,” His voice betrays him with a crack in the middle of the word as he quickly averts his eyes to open his sketchbook to a page that rests two pages before the one he’d closed it on. This one contains several sketches of a few different birds resting on a tree branch. Tobin doesn’t need to know that this drawing is from a walk he went on several days ago, just like he doesn’t need to know that he had been sketching Zoey’s dress from memory of the picture she’d sent for thoughts. If Tobin’s outfit flustered him like that, he’s not entirely sure how he’s gonna survive Zoey’s arrival. Maybe he won’t and the bench’ll just open up a hole and swallow him before he has a chance to embarrass himself.

Speaking of embarrassing himself, Tobin’s arm has moved across the back of the bench to join his other hand in squeezing both of Leif’s shoulders in a prideful grip with a whispered _‘bro’,_ causing Leif’s stomach to do flips again with the proximity of Tobin’s voice to his ear and the tender way he touches him. It doesn’t _mean_ anything, he knows that, but when he looks to his left and sees an awestruck smile on Tobin’s face as he looks at the sketches, he can’t help the swell of pride he feels lurch from his stomach to his heart and he lets himself smile with the blush on his cheeks.

“These are fuckin’ baller, dude.”

His hand casually drops from squeezing his shoulder to just resting on it with his arm around him, casual and proud and genuine and _Tobin._ He tries not to absolutely melt, but the combination of Tobin’s casual affection and the (albeit _crude)_ words of affirmation strike up in his heart and make him feel just about like he’s turning into a puddle of goo.

“Thanks, man.” He tries to hide the blush by ducking his face as Tobin pulls away, giving him one last soft thwap on the shoulder as he leans back against the bench, looking up just in time to see a vision in red walking towards them and _wow._

“Holy shit, Z, you look like a princess.” The words have left Tobin’s mouth before Leif has even processed the fluttering in his stomach as he looks up and sees Zoey in a fiery red dress that hugs her torso and then poofs out into a pile of tulle that ends just above her ankles, small clutch purse held in both hands in front of her, light blush resting on her cheeks at Tobin’s immediate jaw-dropped, awe struck reaction, eyes flitting over to Leif as he forces his jaw shut, hoping he doesn’t look as absolutely dumb as he feels as he tries to make his heart feel a little less like someone’s started squeezing it relentlessly.

“Y - Yeah. Ditto.” He spits out awkwardly, feeling the warmth on his face where the blush had never fully faded from Tobin’s praise and was only being amplified now by Zoey’s flustered smile as Tobin pushed up off the bench towards her, hands shoved into his pockets and turning around slightly to gesture for Leif to follow.

“Aight, pictures, _food_ cause ‘cha boy could eat a horse right now, and then we’ve gotta get our _dance_ on.”

Leif and Zoey both laugh a little at Tobin’s laying out of the game plan as Leif stands up and gestures for them to follow him; he easily knows the park best out of the three of them and he’s been mentally cataloguing photo spots for _weeks_ of daily walks and birdwatching sessions.

David finally catches up to them next to a particularly pretty bed of flowers, quickly explaining that he’d had to double back because he’d forgotten the camera and he’s pretty sure their mom would _actually_ murder him if there was no photo proof of her daughter and her friends, besides the few solo photos they’d taken of Zoey at their house.

The pictures go _well_ , if you don’t count the insufferable amount of goofing off from Tobin that very quickly turns into all three of them pushing each other and a very near _outfit-ruining-spill_ from Leif that the other two would _never_ hear the end of if Tobin hadn’t caught his arm and kept him from wiping out in the dirt.

Dinner goes even better, if you don’t count Leif laughing so hard when Zoey and Tobin started bickering over whether or not _Red Lobster_ was fine dining that he actually chokes on the Cheddar Bay biscuit that was halfway down his throat ( _thankfully,_ he coughs it up, no thanks to Zoey and Tobin who both froze halfway between laughing and concern).

By the time they actually make it to the dance and get in the door, Leif’s stomach hurts from laughing and Zoey’s cheeks are almost permanently tinted red as Tobin pulls them both onto the dance floor.

“We got here just in time!” He declares, shouting above the _Cupid Shuffle_ which has just started blaring from the speakers as he drops Leif and Zoey’s hands from where he’d dragged them and falls into line for the choreographed line dance, each of them letting themselves get lost in the simplistic movements, making faces at each other when they were standing side-by-side, rather than facing each other’s backs.

Cup of punch after cup of punch is dumped down each throat as each obnoxious early-2010’s song fades in and out of each other, from _Crazy in Love_ (which Tobin declares as _‘an absolute banger’_ without a doubt in his mind) to _Hot n Cold_ (which Tobin declares _‘not a banger at all’_ , earning laughs from Zoey and Leif who are very quickly realizing that the senior who’d been gloating about spiking the punch for weeks might’ve been a little more serious than they’d given him credit for) to _Lip Gloss_ (which circles Tobin right back to _‘absolute banger’,_ accompanied by some somehow lewd _and_ graceful dance moves, that overshadow Zoey and Leif’s _swaying_ by far).

Eventually, Tobin tires himself out, staggering off the dance floor, followed very closely by Leif and Zoey, who’ve expended much less energy with their awkward dance moves, having spent most of their time just enjoying Tobin’s vibes.

“Oooh, photo booth!” Zoey’s attention is brought to the booth sitting on the sidelines of the gym only a few seconds after their retirement from the dance floor, tugging lightly on Leif’s suit jacket with a pleading smile that he gives in to _way_ too easily, followed by Tobin’s hand shoved against his back in encouragement, pretty much overwhelming him with _touch_ and _affection_ and ‘ _holy shit why did I think this was a good idea?’_ as they pull him into the booth, smack dab in the middle of them, grabbing a couple of the small props and signs quickly on their way in.

_Flash._

They each smile.

_Flash._

Leif laughs, Tobin holds up a crown prop and Zoey’s head leans far too close to Leif’s shoulder, making him feel like there’s a current running through his whole arm.

_Flash._

Zoey holds a sunglasses prop in front of Leif’s face, Tobin’s arm is slung around him with a dumb smile.

_Flash._

The props are dropped and Tobin and Zoey both lay sloppy kisses on each of his cheeks, impromptu and unplanned, but absolutely paralyzing.

They probably thought they were just being cheeky and fun (and in their defense, they _were_ and if he wasn’t head over heels, he’d probably think it was _cute_ ), but as they pile out of the photo booth and collect the several copies that have printed out, Leif suddenly feels like he’s running on autopilot, the spiked punch colliding with the ghosts of two pairs of lips pressed up against his cheek and painting a picture of Leif’s brain absolutely short-circuiting; were he not a completely human boy, he’s sure everyone around him could see the steam and sparks coming from his ears as Zoey and Tobin carry on like normal, his legs taking him unconsciously behind them to where they stop at the snack table, watching Tobin pile cookies onto a small styrofoam plate as he and Zoey swap small conversation that doesn’t make its way into Leif’s head, right in one ear and out the other.

“Hey, um,” He steps forward, finally finding his voice where it’s felt like it’s stuck in the back of his throat as he taps Tobin’s shoulder and grabs both of their attention. “I’m gonna step outside, get some air.”

He tries to ignore the worried look that quickly crosses both faces as he brushes past them, focused far more on the prospect of calming his heart from where it’s started beating much faster than the norm, of feeling cold air on his face to calm the dizziness of panic that’s starting to strike his heart, and of loosening the obnoxious floral tie that feels like it’s choking him now, pushing in on his Adam’s apple and restricting his breath.

He doesn’t know where he’s going when he makes it outside and feels immediately sobered by the cool air hitting his clammy skin, forcing himself to take in deep breaths as he walks in a straight line from the doors, deciding that the football field directly in front of him is as good a place as any to decompress and try to return to the light jovial mood that had struck him when he’d entered the dance with his friends; God knows he’d never make it to the football field for any other reason.

He’s only sitting on the bleachers with his head in his hands for a few minutes before he hears soft footsteps coming up on his left side. He doesn’t even wanna raise his head, doesn’t really have the energy to after calming down from the initial panic that had overtaken him in the gym. He doesn’t really _need to_ either to know that it’s Zoey and Tobin because he could hear their whispered voices from a mile away as they approached. He feels one of them sit down next to him as one of them climbs up and around him to sit on the other side.

“You okay? You kinda bolted.” Zoey’s voice is soft as one of their hands (he’s sure it’s Zoey’s, light and delicate and almost hesitant) rests on his back, rubbing soft, slow circles and he’s almost overwhelmed again, the feeling of fondness pushing up quick in his chest.

“I am… _so_ okay.” He lies unconvincingly, his voice cracking with the tears he still kind of feels like might come pouring out any minute, earning an audible scoff from Tobin, who nudges him with his foot.

“We’re not idiots, Leif.” A small silence hangs between his words. “I mean, not _in this case._ What’s up, dude?”

He finally sits up, wiping under his nose with a sniffle and glancing between the two of them, forcing a deep breath into his lungs at the worry that he sees reflected back at him.

“ _Seriously,_ I’m fine, I was just… I was overwhelmed.” It’s not _entirely_ a lie. “The lights, the music…” _The best friends kissing my cheek._ “It was just… a bit much.”

He sighs, looking between them again and shrinking into himself a little bit when he notices Zoey shivering, her hands drawing up to rub at bare arms. _Fuck._ There’s a pang in his chest as he mentally beats himself up; his angsty teen bullshit had dragged the three of them outside where the wind chill was unforgiving.

He sheds his floral jacket quickly without thinking about it, draping it lightly around Zoey’s shoulders with an apologetic look as she pulls it tight around her.

“Sorry, bro.” Tobin seems genuine and Leif doesn’t hide the confusion that brings, eyes drifting away from the _kind-of-adorable_ sight of Zoey cuddled up in his jacket.

“For _what_?”

“You didn’t wanna come.” He responds simply, shrugging his shoulders with it like it’s obvious. “I kinda forced your hand. You didn’t wanna come, you knew you wouldn’t have a good time, and I steamrolled you ‘cause _I_ wanted to hang out. That wasn’t cool.”

Leif’s eyes fall to his hands twisted together over his knees, hands gripping too tight together, ignoring the way it hurts a little bit.

“No, I’m…” He trails off, taking the time to think, to form actual words, hoping to say anything that’s not an _almost lie_ here, anything to make either of them feel better about how _he’s_ feeling. It’s not _going to the dance_ that was the problem here. “I’m _having_ a good time. Holy _shit_ , I’m having a good time, you guys are…”

He trails off again, releasing his hands from each other to rub one of them at both of his eyes before running it down his face and resting his chin on it, letting himself very swiftly internally debate whether or not this is worth saying. Whether or not he’s willing to take this risk.

“I think you guys are my soulmates.” The spiked punch slurs his speech slightly as Tobin and Zoey give him a thoughtful look, Zoey leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, letting the jacket hang around her shoulders, and Tobin leaned back onto the set of bleachers behind them. “Not in a weird way, I just… you guys feel like home.” The silence hangs above them, feeling like it’s a second away from choking him. _No_ response might just be worse than a _bad_ response. “No, that’s cheesy, wow. I - I shouldn’t have said anything, I just… I really like you guys and I was… I was _really liking you guys_ in there and I freaked, so I just...” The tears are back in his eyes now at the perceived rejection of their silence, his back immediately straightening, making any attempt to get his dignity back now. “Don’t blame yourselves, for dragging me here, cause you - cause you didn’t, I’d do…” A choked laugh makes its way past his lips, the full weight of his pathetic-ness hitting him as Tobin sits up from where he’d leaned back. “I’d do pretty much anything for you guys, so that was… _that was me.”_

Leif’s eyes flit between both of them once more, trying so hard not to let the tears in his eyes fall as they still both just _stare_ out at the field in front of them, the silence heavier than anything else as he forces a deep breath into his lungs.

“I’d really appreciate it if you guys said… _something._ Anything. Hell, you could run away from the crazy guy who’s in love with you, but.. _Something._ I just need to know where we stand.”

The words come out soft and choked, a rawness in the back of his voice as Tobin rests his head on his hand and looks at him with a soft, dopey smile that at least takes some of the tension out of his shoulders.

“You’re in love with us?” Zoey’s voice isn’t nearly as judgemental as he expects (or _surprised_ , he notes), just curious as her eyes glance towards him too, moving up off her arms to drag the jacket closer around her again.

“ _Yeah.”_

“You’re an idiot.” Tobin says, any maliciousness absent in his voice and replaced with a soft fondness, shaking his head as he says it.

“I am?”

“He is?”

Leif is surprised to find the same confusion in Zoey’s face as his head whips to look at her before slowly twisting back to look at Tobin.

“So _neither of you_ noticed me flirting with you? Cool. _Cool, cool._ Gotta up my game, good to know.”

“ _What?_ ” The soft, synchronous question from Zoey and Leif manages to draw a laugh out of all three.

“I’ve been totally into you guys for like… _two years._ I kind of just thought you weren’t into the whole poly thing, not that you were _oblivious._ ”

“I mean, _I am,_ I don’t know if…” Leif glances down and then up to where Zoey sits next to him, the question clear in his eyes as Tobin lightly takes his hand and starts playing with his fingers, causing an unconscious soft smile to manifest on Leif’s face as he waits for Zoey to respond.

“Can we take it one day at a time?” The question is accompanied by a soft smile as she takes his other hand and mimics Tobin’s fiddling.

“ _Yeah._ One day at a time sounds nice.” Leif’s smile grows as Zoey scoots closer to him, moving her feet up to rest on the bleacher in front of them, leaning her head onto his shoulder as she takes his hand properly between both of hers and Tobin does the same. Each of them lets their gaze drift up and Tobin makes a small gesture with his head against Leif’s shoulder.

“Point out a constellation?”

He can’t see Leif’s face but he’s almost a hundred percent sure there’s a soft smile still resting there and maybe even a blush as his eyes flit from star to star, deciding quickly which one he wants to talk about (information he’s sure Zoey already knows, but he’s always excited to share and Tobin’s always excited to _ask)._

“Uh, right up there,” He gestures with his and Zoey’s joined hands. “The one that looks like a really long line with a cluster at the end. That’s _Hydra.”_

He keeps talking, launching into an explanation of the myth that gave it its name and the tension drains from his shoulders, his thumbs absently rubbing against each of the hands that are joined in his. Eventually, he moves on to the next star and soon after, they spread out so they’re each laying on a different row of bleachers, looking straight up as Leif and Zoey point out different stars, each with different knowledge of where the names came from and what they mean, while Tobin is content to just listen to them ramble, making asinine comments when he feels its appropriate, revelling in the laughter that it draws.

Leif could be wrong or right about them being his soulmates, but he knows that _this_ right here and the ease that he feels has to mean _something._ One day at a time sounds just about perfect as their laughter fills the quiet, chilly air above them.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you liked it! comments & kudos are always appreciated but this fic is for mary and mary only (im very much kidding please still leave a comment if you liked it, i love getting comments more than i like getting 100s on exams and thats saying something because im a fucking nerd)


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